Loving the BITE: Nutritious Zucchini Pasta

From apples to sports drinks to supplements to zucchini, Loving the Bike’s got your nutrition needs covered on and off the bike. This week, let’s go ahead and talk zucchini. If you grow it, in all your spare time off the bike, you likely have it coming out of your ears by now. And even if not, you can surely find some on sale at the grocery store or Farmer’s Market.

But, why should cyclists eat it?

Turns out, it’s got lots nutrients to offer, and it makes a good pasta dish. In fact, it takes the place of the pasta.

4. As you would regular pasta, you can also top with extra virgin olive oil, homemade or commercial organic tomato sauce, and/or cooked chicken, if desired.

Comments:

You’ve heard it here before; dinner is a great time for vegetables. A lot of vegetables. I recommend that you cover half your plate with them, every night. There are a few good reasons.

1) If you’re trying to maintain a healthy weight, or lose weight to improve your power to strength ratio, these low-calorie, nutrient rich foods will give you a lot of benefit, without promoting fat storage (I’ve never had a client ruin their fat loss plan by eating too much zucchini). They’ll also fill you up with volume, and help you control the portions of other foods at dinner.

2) As an athlete, you need the extra antioxidants. All of us have a lot of damaging free radicals in our bodies; they are a natural product of many biochemical processes. As an athlete, you likely have some extra oxidative stress because you engage in extra biochemical processes: all the extra breathing, muscle contracting, and fuel metabolizing during training. Never fear, you just need some extra antioxidants from food like zucchini.

Anti-microbial and anti-parasitic properties: Dried summer squash seeds are often used in folk-medicine as treatment of intestinal parasites in some parts of the world.

Bonus Recipe: Frozen Zucchini Shreds

If you’re still wondering what to do with all that zucchini, grate it (skin and all), and freeze it in individual portions. Add it to smoothies for a vegetable kick and a thickener.

It’s not flashy, it’s not trendy, it’s zucchini. And, that’s just fine with me. It provides antioxidants, fiber, protein, and anti-inflammatory components for very little calories. If you’re striving to be lean, strong cycling, it’s a good choice this week.

9 Responses to “ Loving the BITE: Nutritious Zucchini Pasta ”

My wife make great zucchini cakes that taste just like Crab cakes. Love them. Taste just like Crab cakes. Have them for breakfast lunch or dinner. Also most excellent for after ride recovery. There is also zucchini bread and her zucchini chocolate cake. Good stuff.

My question is other than juice, can you suggest modifications in lieu of table sugar for energy and hydration.

Answer:

Both raw/organic honey or agave can work great in the homebrew (substitute in the same quantities for the sugar, or to taste), but you do have to shake well in order to make sure they don’t settle out. Have you tried either of these? Also, make sure to use at least the minimum amount of salt recommended in the homebrew as the temps rise, you need the sodium replacement if you’re sweating.